Newcastle head coach John Carver accused defender Mike Williamson of deliberately getting sent off after his side went down 3-0 at Leicester City in the Premier League.

The centre-back was shown a second yellow card for clattering into Jamie Vardy on the touchline with 26 minutes left, before fellow defender Daryl Janmaat was also dismissed for a second bookable offence.

A Leonardo Ulloa brace, either side of a goal by captain Wes Morgan, handed Leicester a comfortable victory on Saturday that took them to within a point of their opponents in the battle to avoid relegation.

Newcastle's fans branded their players "gutless", "spineless" and "cowards" as they boarded the team bus afterwards and while Carver was similarly disappointed, he reserved his sharpest criticism for Williamson.

"I thought he meant it," Carver said. "I was standing in the technical area and he had already had a caution.

"My first reaction five seconds before is, 'Don't do it.' Vardy is off the pitch, Willo is off the pitch and the ball is off the pitch. I'm not accepting that.

"Half-time was the most animated I've been in my career. That's probably why that's happened to the two guys (who were sent off). I must have wound him (Williamson) up.

"I don't know why he'd deliberately want to get sent off. But I thought he meant it and I've told him face to face.

"I can't disagree with the fans calling us gutless and spineless. If I was in the stands, I'd be doing the same thing. If I had 11 Jack Colbacks working as hard as he worked, we'd be heroes."

With only three games of the season remaining for Newcastle and the relegation zone just two points below them, Carver urged his players to arrest their eight-game losing streak.

"It is serious now," he said. "The one thing I will say is it's in our hands, my hands and the players' hands. We have to do something about it.

"They need to grow up and take it on the chin. If they can't grow up, they can hide behind a post. We need to grow up. And if not they can stay at home.

"I'd like to think they have the spirit. If someone is having a go at me, I will prove a point. It's very important to stand up and be counted."

Leicester have hit form at just the right time, claiming a fifth win in six games to give manager Nigel Pearson some welcome relief after a week that saw him apologise to a journalist for branding him "an ostrich".

"I don't like the claim that I was pressganged into an apology," Pearson said, having turned on the reporter -- an AFP freelancer -- following Wednesday's 3-1 loss at home to Chelsea.

"I made that as I thought it was the right thing to do. But what I am is what I am. I have to live with that. I don't want to change.

"Football is an emotional game. I've been criticised for not being emotional and for being emotional. I don't see too much mileage with going any further on that."

He added: "I'm very pleased with the result and performance. It was never easy to get back to the type of intensity we would have liked.

"We have a more realistic chance than we did before we kicked off. Newcastle still have one more point than us. Things can change quickly, but we've given ourselves a better chance."